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Southwest Minnesota State University
1501 State St.
Marshall,
MN
56258
Course content questions: info@minnesotamasternaturalist.org
Minnesota’s remaining prairie grasslands and wetlands are still visible as you travel across the western and southern areas of the state. Enroll in this course to learn more about the Prairies and Potholes biome as well as current efforts to conserve and restore prairie and wetland habitat.
With your instructors and guest experts, you will explore the prairie, its wetlands and streams through classroom, lab and outdoor field experiences.
This course fulfills the requirement for becoming a Master Naturalist volunteer. To become a volunteer, you must complete a capstone project and commit to volunteer for 40 hours during the year.
Potential and current Master Naturalist volunteers.
$295. Includes manuals and supplies.
If you would like to receive a scholarship do not register now. Instead, complete this scholarship form and wait to be contacted before enrolling.
Cancelation requests received more than two weeks before the start of class are refunded minus a $20 processing fee. Cancelation requests received less than two weeks before the start of class are refunded minus $50.
In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, this course material is available in alternative formats upon request. Direct requests to Julie Larson, larso143@umn.edu, at least two weeks in advance of the course start date.
The official name for the ecological province called the Prairies and Potholes by the Minnesota Master Naturalist Program is the Prairie Parkland Province. This biome was historically composed mainly of tallgrass prairie. Today it is used for agricultural purposes. The glaciers deposited between 100 and 600 feet of drift over the entire region. The Prairies and Potholes biome covers just over 16 million acres on the western edge of the state.
The biome is a hot and dry place, where evapotranspiration is annually higher than precipitation. In the northern portions of the biome, glacial kettles have filled with water and form the "potholes" that dot the landscape. These bodies of water are important for migratory waterfowl, and waterfowl production. The Minnesota River now flows through the old channel carved by Glacial River Warren, an outlet for Glacial Lake Agassiz.
Participants must complete the full 40 hours of training to become a certified Minnesota Master Naturalist Volunteer.
Each participant must complete a group capstone project. Participants will choose a capstone that they can complete before finishing the course.
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